Coyotes place Domi on injured reserve, list him as ‘week-to-week’

The Coyotes placed left wing Max Domi on injured reserve Saturday morning with an upper-body injury. They are listing him as week-to-week, terrible news for a team that entered Saturday’s game against Nashville with the second fewest goals per game (2.15) in the NHL.

Domi left Thursday’s loss to Calgary late in the second period after fighting the Flames’ Garnet Hathaway. He left the ice laughing with a cut under his left eye and did not return. The Coyotes did not say whether Domi is undergoing concussion protocol, or if he injured something else in the fight.

To fill his roster spot, the Coyotes recalled center Laurent Dauphin from Tucson of the American Hockey League. They also recalled defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. The Coyotes will also be without newly acquired center Peter Holland against the Predators. Holland, who was playing in Toronto, hasn’t sorted out his work visa issues yet but is hoping to join the team on a four-game road trip that begins Monday in Pittsburgh. His absence allowed the Coyotes a roster exemption to recall an extra player.

In 26 games this season, Domi has five goals and a team-high 11 assists. He is second on the team in points with 16 to Radim Vrbata’s 17.

When asked after Thursday’s game if having one of his star players engage in fights was a concern, coach Dave Tippett shook his head.

“Max has got to play the way he plays,” Tippett said. “He’s a hard player. You’d never like to see anybody get hurt, but Max has got to play hard.”

Domi’s IR designation is retroactive to Thursday when he was hurt. He must spend a minimum of seven days on IR so the earliest possible game he could return is next Saturday at Minnesota. In the unlikely event he is ready by then, it’s doubtful the team would fly him to St. Paul for the final game of a road trip, rather than just waiting until they return home to play Calgary again on Dec. 19.

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